


Celestial

by JWade



Series: Lunar [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-03 17:39:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14001204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JWade/pseuds/JWade
Summary: After the world outside Loki's island ended, Dean and Bobby try to pick up the pieces and build a new life while Sam and Loki's relationship grows.





	1. Chapter 1

Now that all of the crises were over for the moment, Loki could finally get around to some of the things he had been meaning to do. He waited until Dean and Bobby had headed into the village to help with the construction of their home before he gathered all of his priests and priestesses together for a conversation about how things were going to be in the future. None of them knew that it had been weeks since their god had been with anyone but Sam. Each one only knew that it had been that long since he had been with him or her. They didn’t discuss such things among themselves. Once they were all gathered, he began to address them. “As some of you may know, High Priest Sam and I have found love with each other,” he said, forcing himself not to run from this conversation. Hell, it was just yesterday that he admitted it to Sam for the first time, but these were his most trusted. He didn’t expect to be telling anyone else, but they had a right to know. They NEEDED to know in order to understand the changes he was implementing. “As such, from this point forward, any intimacy I engage in will be with him and him alone. However, I will still need new priests and priestesses. It is for this reason, that I give you all leave to marry. Your bonds can be passed to your children. At least one child born from each of you will be expected to serve, but you can choose which child if you have more than one.” 

“How will that work? Would we still reside here? Would we still raise our children or would we give them to you?” the questions flew fast from them. 

“You will be permitted to reside here with your families or in homes in the village if you so choose. High Priest Sam will coordinate the details of your duties based on your decision. The dormitories will be converted into family living quarters much like the High Priest’s rooms are set up should you choose to reside here. You will still raise your children and you will always be their parents. They will simply be raised to be priests and priestesses as they grow up much like those who are raised to be farmers or merchants or hunters,” Loki told them. 

“What if they don’t want to be?” one of the priestesses asked. 

“It will be your job to raise them in such a way that they would see it as the honor it is. If, despite that, they are still abhorrent to the idea, then no one will force them. No priest at all is better than an unwilling one. I don’t anticipate that being much of a problem, though.”

“What if we marry each other? Would it still be one child or one from each of us?” one of the priests asked. 

“It would be one from each of you assuming you have more than one child. The goal is to keep at least the same number if not some growth. If you have three children that all want to become priests or priestesses, then that will be allowed. Without binding more through taking their innocence, the only way would be to pass the bonds from parent to child, so no one but your children will be able to do the job,” he explained. 

“Would you have to approve our marriage?” someone asked. 

“Yes. I would want to ensure that both you and your children are well cared for, but I will not be overly critical of your choices. I would also perform the ceremony myself in order to strengthen the bonds that would pass to your children. Are there any more questions?” he asked looking around, pretty sure that they had covered everything, but wanting to make sure. When he saw that they didn’t have any more. “Excellent. Once you have found a potential spouse, bring it to the high priest’s attention and he will call me, and we will go from there. Unless any of you already have someone in mind?” 

Eira and Hallr looked to each other and both nodded before Hallr looked to Loki. “I would like to wed Eira if you will permit, my lord,” he said bowing his head reverently. 

Loki looked at the priestess in question. “Do you share his desire?” he asked. 

“I do, my lord,” she said with the same bow. She and Hallr had become very close since they arrived here. They had not lain together, as it was forbidden without their god’s permission, but they had fallen in love. 

“Then it shall be done,” Loki told them. “Would you like to make further arrangements or perform the ceremony now?” 

After another glance at each other, Eira said, “We would like to make further arrangements, if it would not be an inconvenience to you.”

“It would not. Let me know through the high priest when you have decided on a date and we will discuss it further,” he told them cheerfully. “Anyone else?” When he didn’t get a response, he nodded to them and said, “Then you are all free to resume your days. Hallr, Eira, stay behind.” Once everyone else had filed out, pausing to kneel before him on the way, he turned to the two that would be wed. “Would you prefer to remain here in the temple or have a home in the village?” He knew that if they had differing opinions they would need to discuss it, but if they agreed, he could begin to make arrangements. 

“I would like to live here,” Eira told him. 

“As would I,” Hallr agreed. 

“Very well. I will create a private living area for you, but you will not enter until after you are wed. Nor will you lie with each other until then,” he told them, wanting to make sure that was clear. They nodded in acceptance and thanked him as he dismissed them. 

Once he and Sam were alone in the room, Loki turned to his lover. “Did you know they were together?” he asked curiously. 

“I suspected,” Sam told him. “I had seen looks and brief touches between them. They probably wouldn’t have wanted me to know anyway for fear that I would tell you and you would forbid it.”

“Understandable. Anything else you ‘suspect’ about any of them?” Loki asked as they headed back to Sam’s apartment. 

“I know Aslaug was being courted by a young man before she decided that becoming a priestess was more important to her. I would imagine she would seek him out and see if he was still interested,” Sam told him. 

“Do you know who she was being courted by?” Loki asked, intending to check him out beforehand so no one got their hopes up if he was unsuitable.

“Eyvindr. His family runs the gambling hall, and he looks to follow in their footsteps,” Sam told him. 

Loki had nothing against gambling of course. In fact, he saw it as a valuable pastime, as long as it was done with honor. He would look into the gambling hall of the village and ensure that they lived up to the morals of the one from when he was here last. Assuming it did, he would evaluate the boy individually. Loki nodded to Sam in thanks for the information. “What do you say we take a walk down to the village and see how construction is going on your brother’s house?” 

Sam grinned and nodded. “I like that idea. I think Dean said his bow was supposed to be ready today too.” Dean was rather excited about the prospect. He felt like it would be getting back to his roots. Guns were all well and good when hunting things like werewolves and other monsters, but when it came to animals, it seemed rather unsporting. The day it had dawned on him that monsters no longer existed, Sam had been at a complete loss as to what to do for him. He was both ecstatic that they were no longer a threat to people and feeling like his life was now over since his job was essentially done. It had taken a while for Sam to talk him out of his funk by pointing out that there was a whole community here that needed protecting from both wild animals and hunger. 

Bobby had considered doing the same thing as Dean, and hooking up with the local hunter trade, but that was before he learned how much physical activity, including running and horseback riding was involved. He was okay on horseback for a leisurely ride, but racing through the woods in pursuit of some creature, not so much. Dean felt like a cowboy, Bobby just felt old. Instead he decided to join up with the fishermen. They may not have an ocean anymore, but there were plenty of other bodies of water. They often had to go on horseback as well, but it was a much more sedate ride. Finding that it was the most common career path for retired hunters just solidified his decision. He’d basically been retired from a different kind of hunting for years. He would be joining up with the group once they were finished construction on the house. 

Sam and Gabriel arrived at the location just as everyone was taking a break for lunch. Gabriel had snapped Dean and Bobby up some things to trade for meals and such so they didn’t end up too far in debt by the time the house was done and they were able to get their own. Thankfully, building the houses was something the community all came together for without payment, otherwise it would be far more difficult. The only payment required was for Dean and Bobby to help with constructing other houses as needed. 

It was just after the lunch break when a young teenager arrived, carrying a large bow. “Sweet,” Dean exclaimed as he took it from him. He turned it over in his hands a few times before taking it and drawing it back. “Perfect,” he said with a grin, turning to the boy. “Thanks, kid. And tell your dad thanks for me too.” The kid beamed at him before handing over the quiver and arrows and heading back to town. Dean’s payment for the bow was five pounds of prime cut meat from his first few kills. When everyone got back to the construction, Sam and Gabriel moved on through the village. Sam wouldn’t have minded helping, but it just ‘wasn’t done’ for a high priest to do such menial labor and Loki certainly wasn’t about to. It would probably be finished in the next couple days. Then they would have to barter for furniture.


	2. Chapter 2

After a leisurely walk around the village, during which Loki stopped to check in on the gambling hall to make sure they ran honest games and didn’t offer credit which could get people in a great deal of trouble, they headed back to the temple, plopping down on the couch, Loki curling up to Sam’s side contentedly. “So, I’m curious,” Sam said hesitantly, not sure if he should bring it up or not. 

“Shoot.”

“Well, all those gods that lost all of their people…what are they going to do without the power they get from worship?” 

“There are other worlds out there where they still have followers. They won’t starve. They will want to rebuild a power base on this world though. This community is rather small and has been struggling to grow, but some of the other surviving settlements have been growing beyond sustainability, so I would imagine the gods that rule over them will ask for volunteers to move. I’d bet the gods who lost everything are already working to clear an area where they can build a combined island to get them through in the meantime until enough of the world is ready to split it up again,” Loki told him. 

“And the other gods would do that? Just give up their followers?” Sam asked curiously. 

“If you had a veritable feast for you alone and your friends were starving, would you not share?” Loki asked. 

“Yeah. I guess. When you put it that way, it makes sense,” Sam said thoughtfully. 

“There is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Loki told him. When Sam looked at him curiously he said, “I was thinking about Hodr. I want to build a statue of him outside the temple doors, so that the people always remember his sacrifice.”

“They won’t accept a statue of him unless there is also a statue of you. To have him be the only statue on the island, they would feel would be an insult to you, even if it’s your idea. They would accept it if you ordered it, but I wouldn’t suggest it,” Sam told him. 

Loki nodded thoughtfully for a moment, considering how he could get what he wanted to make the people feel better. “What if it was a statue of him and me?” he suggested. 

“I think it would depend on what it’s like. What did you have in mind?” Sam asked. 

“I don’t know yet,” Loki thought for a moment. “Wait! I have a better idea. What if I had a statue of me behind the dias in the temple and then a statue of Hodr guarding the doors?” 

“As long as the statue of you was larger I don’t see how it would be a problem,” Sam said thoughtfully. 

“Perfect. I’ll get started on that tomorrow,” Loki said. “Tonight, I plan to spend enjoying you,” Gabriel said, pulling Sam into a deep kiss. Once they were spent, Loki laid with Sam all night, just enjoying being in his arms. He didn’t want to miss a moment of this while it lasted. 

True to predictions, Dean and Bobby’s house was finished two days later. Rather than worry about furniture right now, they decided to spend one more night in the temple before heading out on hunting and fishing trips tomorrow respectively. They would hopefully have more to barter with when they returned rather than going into debt to get things now. They had only been gone for a few days, when Loki was summoned to yet another summit. Never before had there been so many, so close together, but he supposed that given the circumstances, it wasn’t at all surprising. 

He and Sam arrived in the same conference room as usual and Loki took his seat in the circle, Sam standing behind him. Lofn gave him a curious look and Sam smiled and nodded at her, pulling her own smile from her. Loki missed the entire exchange, his attention on Odin, who seemed rather more frazzled than usual. “I apologize for the short notice, but we have a great many decisions to make,” he began. “I have just come from a summit with all of the pagan rulers where we were addressed by Michael, the leader of heaven. It seems that we have been given notice to evacuate this world or face the consequences.”

“So, we are back to the possibility of war with heaven?” Kvasir said distastefully.

“We are. Recent reports, however, say that much of their armies happened to be on earth at the time of the incident in an attempt to find out why the schedule of their planned apocalypse was so far behind. It is doubtful that they have the manpower to even begin to be a threat to us,” Odin told them. 

“Then they are just posturing. Making threats they can’t deliver to make us capitulate to their demands,” Forseti suggested. 

“That is our belief. That said, none of us much like the idea of allowing an entire race to become extinct just so that we can hold onto a world like any others. As you all know, unlike us, the angels are bound to this one world,” Odin pointed out the issue.

“We will not abandon our people so they can destroy them all over again!” Loki made his first foray into the conversation. Christianity and their my way or death mentality had turned humanity from a kind and peaceful people into a violent and bloodthirsty race, and he held no illusions that if they left, all of their people would be forced to convert or die. That was the only way the angels could hold onto their power. He knew his brothers and he knew they would stop at nothing. It may not have been the apocalypse they were intending, but they still wanted to remake the world in their image, and subjugate the remaining people. 

“I am suggesting nothing of the sort,” Odin tried to calm the trickster god before things got out of hand. “There were a few options discussed after Michael had laid down his ultimatum and left. These are the options we need to discuss and I assure you none of those options involve abandoning our people.” He looked around the table, making sure that much was understood before he began laying out those options. “One option we discussed was allowing the angels to become their own pantheon among us, allowing them access to our collective power in the meantime which will be enough for them to survive and when the world is repopulated enough, they will be permitted to go among the people like we have and gather their own followers.”

“They would be essentially like indentured servants until that time, though,” Vor pointed out. 

“Not to mention, what is to stop them from doing the same thing again that they did last time and ordering people to kill all who disagree with them,” Vali interjected. “Then we would be right back in this position again, and perhaps we wouldn’t be so lucky as to be able to save what little we did.”

“Those are valid concerns,” Odin told them. “A second option would be to forbid them to leave heaven, give them access to enough of our collective power to sustain them, and let them live out their lives in isolation.”

“Until they recreate an army large enough to move against us?” Loki pointed out. They definitely wouldn’t take kindly to that option. 

“The third option would be to split them up among us, not allowing them to gain enough of a foothold by gathering together. There would be a few angels brought into each pantheon and would be expected to follow our rules and laws or accept the consequences the same as any of our people,” Odin suggested. This option had a lot of thoughtful faces. 

Skadi was the first to speak. “We would need to consider how much of our resources would go towards policing those that have no desire to peacefully co-exist.”

“Not to mention, that would give them access to all of the other worlds as well by binding them to us,” Snotra pointed out. “At least now, there is only one world we need to fear for.”

“Unless we don’t bind them to us,” Loki suggested. He knew that he benefitted from that binding from back when Odin brought him in, so maybe it was slightly hypocritical of him, but he had WANTED something different. He had WANTED the peace he found with these people. They would fight against it every step of the way. 

“What do you suggest, Loki?” Odin asked curiously. 

“We bring them into our cities, allow them to mingle with our people, but they will still remain separate. As angels, not pagans,” Loki told him. “The pagan peoples would not discriminate against them too much. They are very accepting. The angels would still be subject to our laws as residents and could be punished accordingly.”

“But as long as they remain angels, heaven would remain as a potential staging area for them. You know we can’t enter there.”

“No. We can’t. But there is a way to close the gates. Make that part of the deal. Michael closes the gates of heaven and gives the pagan rulers the key. That way, they still have that seat to draw their power from without the possibility of it being used against us,” he suggested. 

“You are certain that heaven can be closed?” Frigg asked suspiciously. 

“Absolutely,” Loki told her. Odin was the only one who knew what he was before and how he would know that, but he didn’t want anyone else to know. 

“Would you be willing to serve as our ambassador to heaven to broker the deal?” Odin asked, knowing that Loki would have the best chance of convincing them if he revealed himself to his brothers. 

Loki sighed heavily. He knew exactly what Odin intended, but he supposed that he should consider himself lucky that the old god was allowing him to keep his secrets from the council at least. It wasn’t like he could say no. Odin could just as easily order him to do it. Best to allow him to play nice whenever possible. At least this way he could use it to call in a favor later. He nodded. “Excellent. Any objections to this course of action?” he asked the group and they all seemed to agree. 

“We still need a backup plan,” Tyr pointed out. 

“We have some people working on creating a world to orbit a star nearly identical to this one. If we must we will take our people, islands and all, and move them to that world. If the angels force the matter, we will leave them to die as their power dries up with no one left to worship them. Then we can come back to this planet when they are gone,” Odin explained the worst-case scenario.


	3. Chapter 3

When Odin broke up the meeting, he let everyone know that he would be meeting with the other pantheons the next day and would suggest the modifications to the plan. The final say would fall to the Norse, the Celts, and the Asians, as the only ones with people left on this world, but if the angels were to be brought fully into the fold of the pagans, all would have to agree. This modified plan however, would work well without having to go to that extreme. Odin told Loki that he would be in touch when all the details were ironed out so that he could operate as go-between for the pagan peoples and the angels. 

Once they were back in Sam’s rooms in the temple, Loki sighed heavily and fell to the couch. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his greatest secret from Sam any longer and he knew that his high priest would have a hundred questions he didn’t want to answer. Sure enough, the first question from his beloved’s lips was, “Why does Odin what you to deal with the angels?” 

“It’s complicated,” Loki told him, trying to get his thoughts together on the matter. It really wasn’t that complicated. Explaining it without pissing Sam off, however, would be. Sam was patient though as Loki gathered his thoughts. “You know how the option was mentioned to bring them fully into the pagan peoples and essentially make them pagan?” Sam nodded. “It has been done before. With…with me.”

“You’re…an angel?” Sam asked wide-eyed. 

“No. I USED to be an angel. I am now a god,” Loki explained. “All the strife in heaven…I just couldn’t take it. And when my own brothers turned on me, tortured me, tried to kill me, I fled. Odin found me and adopted me into the clan. I’m sorry I never told you…”

“It’s okay,” Sam told him. “I knew you weren’t always a pagan. I just didn’t know what you used to be before.”

“How did you know that?” Loki asked curiously. 

“Well…um…Lofn,” Sam said with a shrug. 

“Lofn?” he asked incredulously. When had Sam had any contact with Lofn?

“Yeah. She kinda…came to see me. It was right after I told you I loved you and then you came back and we slept together in the bed and you panicked and left. She told me how you were struggling…not details,” he added quickly. “She just wanted me to understand and be patient with you. She let slip that you had cut yourself off before you joined the pagans which of course led to the whole ‘you weren’t always a pagan’ bombshell.”

“Oh. Well…I guess that makes it easier,” he said uncomfortably. He wasn’t sure how he felt about other gods seeking out his high priest, but since it helped him in this situation he would deal with it. If it happened again it might be a different story though. 

Now that was settled, Sam had other questions. “They said the angels were bound to this world instead of free to travel to others,” he said leadingly. 

“That has to do with how the angels came into being. See, a long time ago there was a pagan god…one of the Egyptians…who wanted more power without having to do the work to care for his people like the rest of us did. He decided that he would instead use threats and intimidation to keep them in line rather than respect and love. He promised eternal torture to any who denied him and bade them to convert others. In order to create an army with which to fulfil his promises, he laid with hundreds of women, taking the children and raising them in a little corner of the universe he carved out for himself. Those children became the angels. He wanted to see if he could create even stronger warriors, so he then lay with those children, but found that the offspring of that union nearly rivaled his powers so he stopped after four and bound those four archangels tightly to him so the they could not overthrow him. They were to keep the others in line. In the meantime, he continued to have offspring with human women until he had an army capable of overthrowing the pagan peoples.”

“Holy crap!” Sam couldn’t help but exclaim. He’d been trying to keep quiet through the story, but this was insane. 

“Yeah. That was pretty much our reaction too,” Loki told him with a slight chuckle. He was speaking of himself as a pagan since he didn’t consider himself an archangel anymore, despite having been on the opposite side of those battles. He was a pagan. He would tell the stories from the pagan point of view. “He had done all this in secret up until this point. The other gods had learned of this rogue god by that point due to the actions of his followers, but he had never given them a name, simply calling himself the ‘one true god’ and so we were trying to find out who he was. Eventually, when he was strong enough, he attacked. Intending to overthrow us and take this world for himself…” 

“Like fathers, like sons I guess,” Sam muttered. 

“Basically,” Loki said wryly, knowing that Sam didn’t include him in that statement. “We were beaten…for the most part. We retreated to lick our wounds, but the battle had at least revealed the identity of the rogue. Rather than risk another lengthy battle, a small insertion team was sent, and the god was captured. Heaven fell into disarray after that.” 

“How was he captured? I mean, it seems like it would be pretty hard to do. He would have to have been extremely careful,” Sam asked, wondering if there was more to that story. 

“His most powerful children were bound tightly to him. They couldn’t harm him, but there was nothing to stop them from passing seemingly innocent pieces of information to neutral parties who would whisper them in the right ears,” Loki told him. 

“So basically they had a man on the inside,” Sam nodded. That made more sense. What would make even more sense would be if… “It was you?” he guessed. Loki nodded. “Did they know? Is that why they turned on you?” 

“No. Not exactly. I never approved of my father’s plan or his methods. Once he was gone, I tried to use my position to argue for peace. They called me a traitor for that, never knowing the depth of my treachery. That was the main reason that Odin was willing to bring me into the pagan peoples. To him, I had redeemed myself from the accident of my birth.”

“And now they’re giving the rest of the angels the chance to do the same,” Sam figured out. 

“It won’t work,” Loki told him. “Not for many of them. We will be forced to execute most of them, but I get why we have to try. To push an entire race to extinction without giving them every chance would make us worse than them.”

“So, you have to go face your brothers again in an attempt to save their lives from their own stupidity. You have to take the same stance against them as the one that nearly got you killed. How could Odin force you into that?” Sam asked sadly, pulling Loki close to his side and resting his head comfortingly on his lover’s. 

“For closure,” Loki told him. “I’m finally starting to move past everything they did to me, thanks to you. I need to confront the last of my demons. Not to mention, I have little desire to see the rest of my brothers destroyed, no matter what they’ve done. I would have the best chance of reaching them. I understand them better than anyone else.”

“Still…it’s going to be so hard for you,” Sam said sympathetically. 

“It is, but I think I can handle it now. You know, a lot of the problems I had with my feelings for you, and feelings for anyone for that matter, is that I thought their version of love was the real one. It took you opening my eyes to see that there is a difference between love and obsession. They may profess to love humanity, but they don’t. Not really. It’s that obsession side of love that is destructive. Now that I see that, I hope I can get them to see it too. Maybe I can make the difference now that I failed to back then.”

Sam could see now that Loki was right. He needed to do this. As much for himself as for the angels and the pagans and even their people cut off from the world on this little island. They would be okay. All of them would. And it would all be thanks to Loki. Just one other question. “Can I ask…it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to tell me…but what was your name before?” 

“Gabriel.”


	4. Chapter 4

Once he was sure that Sam had no more questions, he continued working on the statues that he’d been creating lately. They were due to be unveiled at the service on Saturday. Well, Loki planned on an actual unveiling for the statue of Hodr, but his he just planned to uncover and let the people see it. Loki wouldn’t actually attend the service. He never did. He would arrive just before sundown though to do the unveiling and everyone was asked to attend. Even Dean and Bobby would be back by then and would be attending. Loki was rather glad that he had that to distract him from his worries and fears about everything that was going on. 

When Saturday rolled around, Sam ran the service. He didn’t see Dean or Bobby around, but he wasn’t expecting to. They liked Loki well enough, but couldn’t wrap their minds around the idea of actually worshipping him. Everyone noticed the tall statue that was now behind the dais of the temple. It was Loki, about ten feet tall, with his arms splayed wide in welcome and looking down on the gathering area. Sam thought it was very fitting, but then he was the one who designed it. It was a compromise of sorts for Loki to get the design he wanted for Hodr’s statue. 

When the appointed time came, Sam led everyone out the front doors to gather on the lawn, joining those who had been there earlier and returned for this as well as Dean and Bobby who were just walking up from the village. There was a large cloth covering the statue over the door for the time being. Once everyone was gathered and settled, Loki appeared standing behind Sam. The people all went to their knees, Sam turning to do the same thing. Even Dean and Bobby went along with the crowd. After Loki told them all to rise, he began to address them. 

“A few weeks ago, this entire village and everyone in it, including myself, was nearly destroyed. We would have been destroyed had it not been for the selfless actions of one man. He chose to sacrifice his remaining years to allow us all to continue to enjoy our lives,” Loki said clearly as he pulled the cloth off the statue to find a rather startling likeness of Hodr in his prime. He was holding a large shield with Loki’s sigil and was positioned so that it seemed like he was guarding the temple. There was an inscription at the bottom that said: 

Hodr The Fearless  
Gave his life in defense of his people and his god  
Forever honored by both the living and the dead

“Hodr rests among the honored dead now, but we living will never forget his sacrifice and we must never take for granted that which he sacrificed his life for. Thank you Hodr,” Loki said before he did the unthinkable. He turned and bowed before the statue. That alone told the people how much he honored the man’s sacrifice. A god bowed to no one. The people, in response to this, once again knelt. Once he stood straight again, motioning the people to do the same, he felt it necessary to make it clear that they could not gain his favor in such a manner in a similar way. “Never again will we allow one of our people to make such a sacrifice. Never again will we let it be necessary. We will regain this community and keep it as the warm, welcoming place that it is now. You are all my people, and now that we have come together again, it will once again be as it should. I love you all, and will care for you always,” he said in dismissal. 

As the people left, Dean and Bobby came up to chat. “That was a good thing you did,” Bobby told him. He still hated the whole human sacrifice thing, but he had come to understand the necessity. It made him feel even better about the fact now that it was apparent that no one was taking it for granted. 

“It was the right thing to do. I know that the people will never forget how I saved them, but they need to remember that I didn’t do it alone. They all had a part in it, Hodr especially,” Loki told them. 

Sam was immensely proud of how far his beloved had come. Just saying the words ‘I love you’ to the entire village was a huge step for the previously cold-hearted god. That was why he was so willing to come to Loki’s rescue when he saw the god’s discomfort with the subject. He didn’t really like explaining himself on the best of days, much less when it was regarding more emotional subjects. “So how were your trips?” he changed the subject. 

“It was great! I got two bears and three elk. Agnarr showed me how to break everything down. I mean, I always thought of animals for meat and maybe the fur for clothes, but apparently every part of it can be used. It’s amazing,” Dean told him. 

“I had a pretty good catch,” Bobby added. “I was a little surprised that they saved the scales too. I always just threw ‘em away. They really do use every part of the buffalo around here though.” 

“Were you able to get what you needed for the house?” Sam asked. 

“We managed to get enough. It’ll probably be a while before we’re fully furnished but we have two beds and a couch now,” Dean told him. “I figure next trip we might manage some tables and chairs. Of course we have plenty of food now and I got my bow paid off, so we’re good.”

“That’s great,” Sam said. They all knew that Loki would help them out if they asked, them being family and all, but they wanted to make a go of it themselves, and Loki didn’t particularly want to get that precedent started for fear that other people would be asking for the same considerations, so as long as they were managing, Loki would stay out of it. Dean and Bobby invited Sam and Loki over for dinner the next night and they quickly accepted before the hunters headed home. They wanted to get inside before the temperature dropped too much. 

A few days later, Sam and Loki were woken by the sound of the doorbell, and Sam headed to the door to see who was there. He managed not to let his jaw drop when he saw Odin standing there and instead gave a respectful bow. He was only expected to kneel to his own god, but any others still got a bow. “Might you call Loki so that he can give me permission to enter?” Odin asked. 

Sam nodded and rushed back to the apartment, leaving the door open rather than closing it in Odin’s face. As the ruler of Loki’s pantheon, he was permitted to enter the temple, but only with Loki’s permission. Loki soon joined him at the door and gave that permission, leading the god king back to his and Sam’s apartment and inviting him to take a seat. “I assume we have a meeting set with the angels?” Loki asked, knowing that nothing else would have Odin paying a personal visit. 

“We do. The day after the full moon. That way we will be at the peak of our powers should it come to a fight or the need to move our people to a new world. You and I will be meeting with Michael and Raphael alone.”

“No priests?” Loki asked to confirm. 

“No priests,” Odin said. “They will not have them and since there is a chance that it could come to blows it is better that we have no mortals to protect if it does.” 

“I understand,” Loki said, ignoring the dissatisfied expression on Sam’s face. He would make him understand later. “Where are we meeting?” 

“If you will come to Asgard as soon as the moon sets, I will meet you in the entrance hall of the castle and we will leave together from there,” Odin told him. 

“I will be there,” Loki said with a nod. 

“Thank you, Loki. I will see myself out,” Odin said with a polite nod as he rose and left. 

“I don’t like not going,” Sam said as soon as they were left alone. 

“I know,” Loki told him. “But think about it objectively for a moment. What could you do in a fight between gods and archangels besides be a distraction. Especially since we will be coming off the full moon and you will already be exhausted.”

“I know. I still don’t like it,” Sam said petulantly. 

“I don’t like leaving you behind either,” Loki admitted now that he knew that Sam wasn’t going to fight him on the matter.


	5. Chapter 5

Dinner with Dean and Bobby went well, even if they did end up sitting at the counter to eat. Sam was glad to see that his brother and surrogate father got along well with the man he loved even if they still weren’t particularly fond of what he was. They were willing to accept it for his sake, just as Loki was willing to accept them for his sake. It was a rather warming realization. They made it an early night though since both Dean and Bobby were going to be heading out the next morning. Most hunters and fishermen only went one week of the month, but they were both planning to put in overtime until they had everything they needed for the house. 

The full moon was on Thursday night that week and Sam and Loki spent it much like they always did. The next morning was very different though. Rather than spending it in bed, with Loki curled up in Sam’s arms as the high priest slept, Loki kissed him goodbye and left. Sam went into his apartment to try to sleep, but the worry didn’t allow him to. After a while he gave up and got up, trying to find something to do to keep his mind off of it. 

Loki appeared in the entrance hall of the castle, dressed in his full diplomatic regalia, just as Odin stepped into the hall, dressed the same. “Ah, Loki. Right on time,” he said with a nod. 

“Before we go, I feel like I should warn you…I know that you are hoping that my connection to them will work in our favor, but if they know of it, then it may do the opposite,” Loki told him. 

“Then we will save that revelation for if we are getting nowhere without it,” Odin said, bowing to Loki’s wisdom on the matter. “Are we ready?” 

“Not really,” Loki muttered. “But yes.” Odin took his hand and led him to the neutral meeting site that they had all agreed on. Michael and Raphael were already sitting there waiting for them. 

“You are late,” Michael said distastefully. 

“On the contrary. The agreed upon time was thirty minutes after the moon set. We are actually early,” Odin pointed out.

Michael refused to admit that he had misunderstood the meeting time as after the sun rose, so he just ignored the comment. “I believe you are here to tell us you are abandoning this world to us?” he asked in such a way that made it clear that they had better be. 

“We have come to discuss our options. Contrary to your demands, I don’t believe you want us to leave this world,” Odin told him.

“Of course, we do,” Raphael snarled. 

“If we leave, we are taking our people with us,” Loki shot back. “We will not abandon them to the likes of you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Michael growled. 

“Our people love us. They depend on us. We will not abandon them. Period,” Loki snapped. 

“We will take care of them and love them like our own,” Michael said dangerously. 

“You don’t know the meaning of the word,” Loki accused. 

“How dare you?! You know nothing about us!” Michael roared. 

“Enough!” Odin yelled, and waited until everyone returned to their seats. “We are not here to fight. We are here to find a solution that we can all live with.”

“It is an easy solution,” Michael said. “You can find people on any world in the universe. We only have access to this one. Therefore, it should be left to us. Even your greed must see that.”

“It is not a matter of greed. It is a matter of trust. The trust that our people have in us,” Odin told him. “The trust that we will not betray. HOWEVER!” he said loudly interrupting the tirade before it began. “We have no wish to see your people suffer needlessly either, so we have a counter-offer.”

Michael had no intention of taking anything this pagan had to offer, but he would at least hear it. “Fine. Talk.”

“We will open our cities to you, and share our power to sustain you. When this world is rebuilt, if you can do so peacefully, you will be permitted to cultivate your own followers from the expanding population. In return, you will close the gates of heaven and turn over the keys to the pagan peoples. We will not be able to enter, but you will be unable to use it as a staging ground against us.”

“In other words, you wish to subjugate us to your rule and dole out favors to keep us in line, taking away our rightful heritage in the process?” Michael scoffed. 

“YOU are the ones who proved that you cannot peacefully co-exist,” Loki told him. “YOU are the ones who planted the seeds of violence and intolerance and hatred into the human race which led them to destroying the world. WE need to protect ourselves and the humans in our care.”

“WE can protect the humans,” Michael snapped. “And you’ll have no need to protect yourselves if you leave us in peace.”

“You don’t want to protect the humans. You want to use them. You want to force them to their knees in honor of those who do nothing for them,” Loki snapped. 

“Enough!” Odin said again. “We seem to be speaking in circles now. Perhaps, Loki, it is time to let them in on our secret.”

“If you think we must,” he said with a sigh. He had to admit they weren’t getting anywhere without it. It might make things worse, but at least it was a shot. “I wasn’t always Loki. I wasn’t always a pagan. I used to be Gabriel, and I’m asking you to please let me help save my brothers.”

“Gabriel!” Michael snarled. “So, the little traitor went full turncoat.”

“I left because you were going to kill me!” Loki pointed out heatedly. 

“Then you should have died rather than turn your back on everything we stood for,” Raphael interjected. 

“Everything YOU stood for. Not me. I only wanted peace,” Loki told him. “I’m offering you an option to save our family. Don’t throw it away.”

“You obviously made your choice a long time ago and it wasn’t us. You switched sides and now you want us to place ourselves beneath you. The ultimate revenge is it? No. I will not have it. You will all leave this world…today…or it will be war,” Michael said getting up from the table and signaling the end of the talking. Before anyone could object, both he and Raphael were gone. 

Loki sighed. “I told you it would do more harm than good.”

“It is no matter. They were not listening even before that. They know how to contact us if they change their minds. In the meantime, we have nothing to gain by war. The new world is ready. We will move our people today. I will put out the word. Go get your island ready to move.” 

Loki nodded and did as he was told. He reappeared back in Sam’s room to find his high priest pacing the floor. “How did it go? What happened?” he asked as soon as he noticed the god’s reappearance. 

“It didn’t go well. We will be moving to the new world temporarily by then end of the day. You should get some rest. The people will have many questions when they notice,” Loki told him. 

Sam nodded. He knew that this was his job, not Loki’s. Calming the people’s fears and addressing their concerns was what he was supposed to be doing. Loki was doing his job and he would be rather drained from moving the entire island halfway across the universe. Still… “Are you okay?” he asked sympathetically, knowing that the move would mean the destruction of all the angels. His brothers and sisters.

“I hope that they will contact us to reconsider before they die. But if they don’t…it’s their decision. We tried. If they are too stubborn to survive there is nothing we can do,” Loki said sadly. 

Sam pulled him in for a tight hug and a comforting kiss. “I’m sorry.” 

“I’ll be okay, Samshine. Go get some rest. I have some preparations to make.”


	6. Chapter 6

Sam had just woken up and finished eating breakfast/dinner when he heard the bell ringing at the front of the temple. He slid his boots on, knowing that this was it, and headed for the door. He motioned for all of the other priests to come with him as well. When he opened the door, he found Uffe standing there. It seemed they had sent him with the cart to get here quicker. “Priest Sam. The sky…it’s changed.”

“I know, Uffe. Don’t worry. If you want to have everyone gather in the marketplace I will go explain,” Sam told him calmly. He wasn’t going to make them all trudge up to the temple for an announcement like this. 

“Yes, Priest Sam,” Uffe said, a lot calmer now that his priests seemed to know what was going on and didn’t think it was cause for concern. 

All of the other priests were just as curious about what this explanation might entail so after a brief delay to allow those that didn’t have them to grab boots, the ten of them began the walk to the village. Once Sam had arrived, he found Tue and Uffe at the entrance to the marketplace with the cart and they helped Sam to step up onto it so he was raised above the people…well further above than usual with his abnormal height. 

Sam had no need to ask for their attention. As soon as he stepped up, all chatter stopped and every pair of eyes was looking at him expectantly. “I would like to apologize for any alarm you’ve experienced. A complication arose while attempting to repair the world from its destruction and this island has temporarily been moved to a new world until it is safe to return. Loki has ensured that there would be little discrepancy in the seasons so your crops should not suffer, and nothing will change for us except for the fact that there is now a sea again. I’m unsure if it’s populated at the moment, I’ll be sure to ask Loki and let our fishers know if it is,” he explained. 

That explanation was enough for most and they thanked him for letting them know as they dispersed back to their days. Predictably, Dean and Bobby stuck around and invited Sam back to their house. Once they were inside, away from other ears, Dean asked, “Okay, so what happened. I thought we were going to stay there while it was rebuilt?” 

“We were going to, but then the angels decided to make a fuss. They demanded that the pagans hand over all the remaining peoples to them and leave the world. They get their power the same way the pagans do. Through worship of their religion, and since all that was left were our people they were losing power and would soon die. They said since the pagans could pull from any world, but they were limited to just one, that we should leave it to them.”

“Seems reasonable to me,” Bobby interjected. 

“Maybe on the surface,” Sam said. “But it would involve abandoning every person here and on every other island that survived to the angel’s convert or die philosophy, and they would do it. These people’s ancestors fled to these islands to avoid that. The angels would kill them all off if they refused to convert and then they would be back in the same situation. Even if they did get some of them, it wouldn’t be nearly enough for them to survive. The only thing that would be served by meeting their demands would be to offer all of our remaining people up to be killed. The pagans offered to share their power until the situation was stable enough for them to rebuild like we were, but the angels refused and threatened war, so we left.”

“They left them all to die?” Dean asked worriedly. 

“They didn’t leave us a choice. They were offered every chance, and refused. The pagans refused to risk our remaining people on a spillover of a completely unnecessary war. Should the angels change their mind and ask for assistance they will get it, but until then, we’re essentially waiting for them to die out so we can go back home,” Sam said with a shrug. They’d tried. There wasn’t much more they could have done. 

“That sucks,” Dean said. Despite the fact that the angels were planning the apocalypse in the first place, he hated that the entire race had to die. 

“Yeah. It does. Loki is hopeful that once they realize how hopeless their situation is, that they will let the pagans help, but there is no guarantee.” 

Dean and Bobby had a few more questions, some Sam could answer and some he didn’t have any idea. By the time he went to leave it was already dark out. “Sorry,” Dean said sympathetically. “Why don’t you take Tonto and I can walk up and get him during the services tomorrow,” he offered his horse to Sam. 

“You sure?” Sam asked, surprised that his brother would offer up his horse, but Dean just nodded, so Sam thanked him and went out to the pen. He slid the bridle on and jumped up. The people here rarely used saddles, just the bridle and reigns for easier control. The trip back to the temple only took minutes, which was really nice since it was getting into the start of fall and the weather was getting even colder after sundown. He put the horse up in the stable and headed to his rooms to rest. 

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep just yet, not after sleeping most of the day, but it would be a busy weekend and he needed as much rest as he could get. Tomorrow was the weekly service, and then Sunday was Eira and Hallr’s wedding. Since Loki was performing the ceremony, Hallr had asked Sam to stand up with him and Eira had her sister standing with her. If Eira’s mother had anything to say about it, it would be a beautiful ceremony followed by a festival in the marketplace. 

Sam sat down and went over some more plans for a few hours until Loki appeared, looking rather tired. “You okay?” Sam asked concerned. 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Moving the entire island halfway across the universe without destroying all the wards and enchantments was more than a little tiring. Thankfully, there were so few of the islands that a whole group of gods could pitch in and help for each one, otherwise I’d be much worse off,” Loki explained. 

“You need a power boost?” Sam asked with a smirk. 

“I know you have services tomorrow and then the wedding, so I’m not gonna take a full top off right now, but a little one would be nice,” Loki said, so Sam got up and led them into the main hall before disrobing. Loki knew that he didn’t have the energy to stand while Sam sucked him off, so he said, “On the altar, Sam.” Sam climbed up and spread his legs wide. Loki stripped down and climbed on top of him, kissing him deeply as he slid a finger inside his priest. The kiss ended pretty quickly though, and Loki breathed out, “Will you bleed for your god, Sam?” 

“Yes, Loki. Always,” Sam replied, giving a little involuntary hiss as Loki’s fingernail raked across his chest and Loki leaned down to drink as his other hand pulled a cut on the other side of Sam’s chest for the priest to play in. Loki moaned as Sam’s blood-soaked hand slid over his face and through his hair as he drank. Loki slid a second finger in, trying to prep Sam as quickly as possible. When Sam was ready, Loki slid in with a guttural moan, most of his upper body smeared with blood by now and his eyes were shining brightly, not that Sam could see them from where the god was drinking his blood. It wasn’t long at all before Sam found himself teetering on the edge and Loki sat up on his knees, stroking Sam to completion. 

Sam’s blood-soaked hand found it’s way to Loki’s mouth as his thrusts hit a fever pitch and then Sam was spilling over, pulling Loki over the edge with him. Loki licked his own hand clean before Sam offered his own again, blood and semen mixed on his fingers and Loki sucked greedily before leaning back down. He had slowed his pace, but he didn’t stop. He would get them off one more time before he called it a night. Sam continued with his litany of love for his god, even just chanting Loki’s name at points as he recovered from his orgasm and began building for the next. Once they had both cum again, Loki slid his cock out of his priest and began the task of licking clean all the blood and semen from his body before they redressed and headed back to Sam’s room, nodding to the priest and priestess that had come in during and stopped to watch. Neither of them minded being watched, but Loki no longer offered them a go.


	7. Chapter 7

Once they were back in Sam’s rooms, they plopped down on the couch, Loki curled up to Sam’s side. It wasn’t long before they noticed a bit of commotion coming from outside. Not from people, though. It sounded like the animals were going nuts. “What’s going on?” Sam asked worriedly. 

“The animals can pick up the change of the world just like the people can. Better actually. They’ll settle down in a few days,” Loki said unconcernedly. 

“Are we…you know…safe here?” Sam asked. 

Loki chuckled a bit. “Sometimes I forget you aren’t as familiar with this place as most. There are wards around the village. No animal can cross them without being led by a human. As long as people stay inside the wards they’ll be safe.”

“What about the hunters? And the fishermen?” Sam asked just as they heard a growl followed by a yelp. 

Loki laughed again and shook his head. “I don’t think they’ll have to worry about leaving the wards between now and then.” 

“Yeah,” Sam gave his own chuckle. “You might be right about that.” Between the commotion outside and the fact that he had slept most of the day before, Sam didn’t get much sleep that night, but it turned out that he wasn’t the only one. Most of the hunters and even the fishermen who still had their bows had stayed up picking off the animals that got too close to the village. They knew they didn’t need to worry about them crossing over, but they definitely weren’t going to pass up the opportunity when their pray came to them. 

Sam learned over the course of the service that by the time it started the tally was at sixteen bears, twelve lynx, seven foxes, nine wolverines, twenty one elk, and thirteen wild boars. They would definitely be having a good winter this year, even if the hunters didn’t make it out again before spring and they still had another month or two of regular hunts before it went to an as needed basis due to the cold. That wasn’t even counting what they might get between now and then. Sam knew that Dean and Bobby in particular, since they didn’t come to services, would still be out there. A lot of the hunters came in later or left early so they could get a nap after being up all night. 

After the service, Sam relayed the prayers to Loki, gave him the list, and promptly went to bed and passed out. He didn’t even stir when Loki climbed into bed with him a few hours later. The next morning, Sam opened up the temple early so the decorators could come in and get things ready for the wedding that was due to start in a few hours. Hallr came out a few minutes before it was to begin, in his robes, specially made for the occasion in a dark green with gold detailing. The collar was higher than his usual priest’s robes and the stitching was more elegant. The main difference between these robes and his priest’s robes though was the crests. Loki’s sigil was still prominently displayed on his left breast, but his family crest was showing on the right breast. 

When the music began, the door to the priestess dormitories opened and Eira stepped out, resplendent in a golden gown with dark green details and sash. Everything here was always done in Loki’s colors. Once she reached the dais, her father put her hand in Hallr’s and the couple turned to face the dais and knelt in prayer. Loki appeared a moment later as planned to conduct the ceremony. He pulled a cord from his own robe to bind their hands together as he spoke the marriage rites. Once the ceremony was over, everyone filed out, except for Loki and the couple. While the festival was being set up, the new couple would consummate their marriage on the altar under Loki’s watchful eye. Loki would also be weaving fertility enchantments into the air, per the couple’s wishes, during the process. 

The entire town was there during the festival, but even then, the hunters still stayed at the edge of the party with their bows and took out anything that came close. By the time the animals had settled down a few days later, the totals from that first night had doubled. Dean gave his and Bobby’s total, since they generally shared everything, which was six bears, three lynx, two foxes, one wolverine, eight boars and nine elk. They found that their skills in hitting the smaller animals while they were moving weren’t quite as good as they might have liked. Still, they made a killing and had everything they needed for the house and more than enough to get them through the winter. More than a few people had set up credit with them for things like fruits and vegetables when the harvest came in, including jams and preserves that would last through the winter, clothes that were being made from the fur and skin of the animals they’d killed, other foods throughout the course of the winter and they even had some extra meat and supplies put back to trade later just in case they ran short before winter ended. 

One nice thing about being in such a cold climate is that you didn’t have to worry about freezing things for the winter. Most people just had a space set up outside where they stashed stuff in the snow and ice. It made preserving meat much easier. Hunters were always very well off in the village, but this winter they would be even more so. Many of them joked that they would ask Loki to move the island every fall. Dean had no such qualms and, though he wouldn’t ask him to keep moving the island, he knew that one more move was scheduled and quickly asked that it be done in the fall whenever it happened. Loki laughed heartily at the request, but agreed to it. 

It was a couple months later when Sam, Dean, and Bobby hunkered down for their first arctic winter. The other residents were all old hat at this. The marketplace was nearly deserted, the carts parked up behind the owner’s houses. The food vendors had mostly dished out and preserved everything they had. The only exception was the bakers who worked throughout the winter, but from their homes. It was the same for the ones that kept going during the winter like the seamstresses and the bowyers. The blacksmith had no problems since his forge kept him warm even in the dead of winter. The artists and thespians all lived in their trade houses anyway, so there was no shortage of shows to see during the harsh winter, and there were enough people getting cabin fever that they were all well attended. Sometimes even more so than during the warmer months since there were so many fewer jobs to be done in the winter. 

No one wanted to walk all the way to the temple, which meant the carts got plenty of use ferrying people back and forth roads kept clear by rotating groups of villagers that had nothing else to do. The only roads they bothered with though were the ones leading to the center of town, where all of the still running businesses were located and the one to the temple. The homes were the responsibility of the residents, though many of them chose to simply climb over the snow drifts until they reached a cleared road. Needless to say, Sam was glad to have Loki around to pop him back and forth to the village when he wanted, not that he wanted to often. The supplies for the temple were still delivered and other than seeing a show from time to time there wasn’t much else to do in town since people weren’t exactly out and about. Since he had an easier option of travel than the others, he did offer to pick up any extra supplies Eira needed for the babies that were on the way in between shipments. Loki’s fertility enchantments worked a little too well since the young priestess found herself pregnant with twins. 

It was towards the end of winter though when a hard blow was struck to the community. Runa had fallen ill and wasn’t expected to see spring. Loki still refused to interfere in the natural end of life for anyone, and Runa was quite elderly. He did, however, visit her to comfort her. He promised her a place among the honored dead, and she was beyond touched by his compassion. Loki couldn’t be expected to sit with her all the time, but Sam did more often than not and was by her bedside when she passed two weeks later.


	8. Chapter 8

Winter gave way to spring and with it, three more weddings among the priests and priestesses, including Aslaug and Eyvindr who had renewed their courtship. The two other priests were marrying other priestesses. The other two priestesses were still looking. The ceremonies were very similar, all three were done on the same day, partially so that the festival following the ceremony wouldn’t interfere too much with the preparation of the fields for planting. All three couples consummated their marriage on the altar, with Loki watching, but the other couples had waited in the dormitories for their turn. There were now three family apartments in the temple, but Aslaug and Eyvindr wanted to live in the village.

Towards the end of spring, Eira gave birth to twin boys, Olaf and Sigurd. Loki wasn’t needed since it was a textbook birth, but he was still there shortly after their birth to allow a few drops of his blood to fall in each of their mouths in order to dedicate them as future priests. It would still be their choice for the most part, but the sharing of blood later would be a more sexual thing and avoiding that had been the whole point of giving them leave to marry and have children anyway. They were just breaking way into summer when Loki was summoned to another summit. 

When he and Sam arrived, Loki took his seat, and Sam took his place behind him as they waited for the others to file in. Once everyone was seated, Odin began, “We received a missive from an angel named Joshua. He wishes to meet with our representatives to discuss matters.”

“Joshua is just a seraph,” Loki chimed in. Everyone knew by now that he was an expert on angels, just not how and they had learned not to question it. 

“He implied that he was in charge,” Odin said, wondering if Loki had any more information to share, but Loki just shrugged. 

“Then we will be on our guard, in case this is a trap to lure us back,” Odin said, seeing that Loki had no ideas. “Are there any objections to opening a dialogue?” 

“They already spit in our face with our last offer. Why bother giving them yet another chance?” Vali asked. 

“Because we are talking about the eradication of an entire species. That is not something that should be allowed lightly. Besides which, if this Joshua is telling the truth, there has perhaps been a change in leadership. Our previous offer was given to the leaders at the time. Perhaps this new leader will be more open to compromise.”

“I think that as long as we exercise caution, it could be worth hearing them out,” Baldr said. “Just keep in mind that a pagan ruler would make an excellent hostage and bargaining chip should this offer not be genuine.”

“Very well. Loki, I plan to set the meeting just after the full moon again. Will you be available to accompany me?” he asked. If things were to go bad, having an archangel on his side could be the gamechanger. Especially if the other archangels were no longer in the picture. Loki nodded in agreement. It ended up being a rather short summit, but Odin was all for keeping his people in the loop on any major stuff and this definitely qualified. 

It was another week and a half before the full moon, and Loki and Odin went alone to meet the angels like last time. Unlike last time though, they did not meet Michael and Raphael, but a single angel who introduced himself as Joshua. “You are in charge of heaven now?” Loki asked curiously. 

“Nominally. We seraphs are not made to lead. Since the deaths of Michael and Raphael there has been much chaos. It is not helped by the fact that we are dying. I was elected to attempt to broker this deal though, and the others will abide by any agreement reached here,” Joshua told them. 

“What happened to Michael and Raphael?” Loki asked concerned. Despite the fact that they were assholes, they were still his big brothers. 

“When it was learned that they had a chance to save us all and refused it, there were calls for them to reconsider. When they still refused, there was a riot. Michael and Raphael killed many before succumbing to pure numbers. None of us meant it to go that far, but once it was done, it was done.”

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath for calm. “It sounds like it was in self-defense either way,” he decided. “Are you aware of the details of offer we made previously?” 

“We are not,” Joshua told him. “That is why we asked for a meeting to discuss it.”

“Understandable,” Loki said, looking to Odin who motioned for him to continue. Loki was doing fine and he saw no reason to interfere. “We offered to allow you all entrance into our cities and a share of our power. In return, you will close heaven and turn over the keys to the pagan peoples until such a time as things are stable once more and you can support yourselves. Understand, that we will be unable to enter heaven either, we just cannot have it used as a staging ground for war should you decide to turn on us.”

Joshua considered the matter for a moment. He knew that the sticking point for Michael and Raphael had been the closing of heaven and turning over the keys and he could see why. They would be abandoning their homes and be dependent on others should they ever wish to return. He could see the pagan’s view too, though. In the past, heaven had gone to war with the pagans over far less, and had already threatened war over this instance. As much as he wanted to protect his people, they wanted the same. The deciding factor though was the realization that they didn’t have a choice. They could do this or die. Already some of the younger angels were fading. “Do I have your assurance that we will be able to return to heaven when we are once again self-sufficient?” 

“Pending treaty negotiations yes. And any treaty between us would serve only to protect the interests and well-being of our people, not attempt to subjugate yours,” Odin assured him, as the only one who could make that assurance. 

“Then we accept,” Joshua told him, hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake here. 

“Very well. We will leave you to your preparations. Make sure you split your people up into seven groups. You will be going to seven different cities. I will leave it to you to make sure that families and close friends are not separated. Will a weeks time be enough?” Odin asked, taking over the details now that Loki had secured agreement. 

“It will,” Joshua told him. It would be an insanely busy week, but they wouldn’t be able to last much longer than that anyway. 

“Then we will meet back here in one week’s time. We will have pendants for each of your people allowing them access to one of our cities. How many will we need?” Odin asked. 

“There are four hundred and ninety-three of us left,” Joshua told him. Loki couldn’t help his gasp. A year ago there had been ten thousand angels. Joshua anticipated his question before he could ask it. “More than six thousand were lost in the explosions. Another two thousand in the riots. The remaining number are those whose power levels dropped too far and died or those who killed themselves when they could no longer live with our current circumstances. We will likely lose a few more in the week it will take us to organize everything.”

Loki looked to Odin helplessly and he nodded so Loki made the offer. “If you would like to bring any who are too weak to survive that long here, we will wait and take them now as a gesture of good faith. They will be coming to Asgard so keep that in mind for any of their families and friends.”

“That would be very kind of you,” Joshua said with relief. He had been hoping for such an offer, but didn’t dare to ask. “I will return momentarily.”

While Joshua was gone, Loki and Odin set about making a few pendants that would release the angel’s binds to Earth and allow them to enter the city. Joshua returned almost an hour later with six angels in tow. “This is Castiel, Anael, Samandriel, Gadreel, Balthazar, and Ezekiel,” Joshua introduced them. 

Loki looked them over as he did, and he could see that Joshua was correct in his estimations of their strength. They would be lucky to last two days. He quickly handed over the pendants, explaining what they did and that they would need to keep them on at all times. That done, the two pagans promised to be in touch with Joshua and took the six fading angels with them to Asgard. Thankfully, Loki had informed Sam that if they accepted the offer, which he expected them to do, he would be gone for at least a full day, so he wouldn’t be expected back anytime soon.


	9. Chapter 9

The eight of them flew went straight to the entrance hall of the castle, the angels only permitted that far because they were travelling with Odin. It was usually off limits to all but the council and staff. Odin snapped his fingers and the chief of staff appeared immediately. “Will you please take these angels to the healers to make sure their power levels stabilize? Have the healers contact me directly if there are any problems. Then make arrangements for housing for them an approximately seventy more that will be following in a week.”

“Right away, my lord,” he bowed, and the still nervous angels followed him without a word. 

“A word before you go please, Loki?” Odin asked gesturing him further into the castle. Once they were seated in a comfortable sitting room, Odin waved a hand and two glasses of meade appeared. “What Joshua said about seraphs not being able to lead, only follow…is that true?” 

“For the most part yes. They had spent their entire lives conditioned to follow orders and never think for themselves,” Loki admitted, knowing where this conversation was going and not liking it a bit. 

“What do you think would happen if they were ever to return to heaven the way they are?” he asked. 

“Chaos. Maybe civil war. There’s not telling but it wouldn’t be pretty. I know what you’re going to ask and I don’t want to,” Loki said bluntly. “I will if I have to, but I don’t want to. Perhaps in their time here, you could attempt to cultivate a leader among them.”

“I can certainly make that attempt, though undoing millennia of brainwashing would be easier said than done,” Odin said thoughtfully. “I was not going to ask you to return to being an angel and running heaven full-time though. I was going to suggest, perhaps, taking nominal control and leaving someone else in charge of the day to day.”

“That could be possible,” Loki said thoughtfully. “I’d still like to avoid it if possible. It would be nearly impossible to keep my origins secret from the other pagans if that were to happen.”

“I never understood your insistence on secrecy. Perhaps when there was still a threat from heaven if they knew who you were, it was prudent, but you must know they would think no less of you for your origins.”

Loki couldn’t dispute that. Not really. But it would make it feel more real to him. He was a pagan, not an angel. He didn’t want to remember that life, and if everyone knew then he wouldn’t be able to avoid it. He didn’t know how to explain that to Odin though. Not in a way he would understand. He had never run away from everything he was. “That would be a decent option if Joshua cannot be ready to lead alone by the time they are ready to return. If you could work with him, he could at least handle the majority of it and then I would only need to step in when there were major issues.”

“So, you recommend this Joshua as the leader then?” Odin asked curiously. 

“From what I remember he always had a quiet wisdom to him and he is one of the oldest of the seraphs, if not the oldest. His job was always to tend the garden and he was very peaceful. I’ve seen nothing today that leads me to believe that he’s changed. The fact that he was elected to speak for them means that the other angels respect him to some degree. I think he is an excellent choice,” Loki told him. 

“Then I will speak with Joshua about this when he arrives. Thank you for your assistance, and we will hope that you need not take control of heaven when the time comes,” Odin told him. 

“Thank you,” Loki said with a respectful nod. “I will go check on our new additions.”

Loki headed to the healers and found all six of the angels lying in beds. They were the only patients at the moment. They were looking a little less peaked than they were when they arrived. He moved to the nearest bed. “How are you feeling, Castiel?” 

“I am feeling better,” the seraph said. “What will be expected of us?” 

“Joshua did not explain?” Loki asked surprised. He supposed that Joshua must have had a lot on his mind and been more concerned with getting them help than comforting them. 

“He did not.”

“I apologize. I would have if I had known that he did not. We have made an agreement. We will house the remaining angels and share our power to sustain them until the situation is repaired enough to allow you to be self-sufficient and return to heaven. Joshua was concerned that you and your compatriots would not last the week required to make the arrangements, so you were sent ahead.”

“And what do we have to do in return?” Castiel asked suspiciously. 

“Simply follow the rules of conduct in this community. I will ensure that someone advises you of what they are, and I’m sure as you learn there will be some leeway to account for the fact that you are new,” Loki told him, knowing that the angels would definitely struggle with the idea of something for nothing. He could see Castiel’s suspicion wasn’t satisfied so he sighed. “Look, Castiel. We would never allow the extinction of an entire race if we could do something about it. We can hope that if we ever need assistance in the future that you all would offer it, but it won’t be a requirement. We are trying to save you and hopefully build some goodwill. That’s it.”

“Yeah. Come on Cassie. Quit being paranoid. Take the help and let it go,” another angel called from a few beds down. 

“I am not being paranoid Balthazar. I am being prudent,” Castiel told him. 

“I can understand your skepticism,” Loki said before an argument could start. “But it truly is unwarranted. You don’t have to take my word for it. You will see in time. All we require is that you treat others with respect in the meantime.”

“Who are you?” Anael asked. 

“I am Loki,” he said, not willing to give up his secret just yet, if at all. Perhaps he would tell Joshua, in time, but he still hoped to keep the other angels in the dark. 

“Thank you, Loki,” Anael said with a smile. 

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “All of you make sure you let the healers know if you feel off. The power you’re receiving might feel a bit foreign, but it shouldn’t cause any discomfort or pain,” he told them from experience. When he saw that they all understood, he headed out to check on their homes. He found construction underway on what seemed to be an apartment building and he nodded. That seemed like the easiest way to do it, at least for now. It would give them the comfort of being together without being on each other’s toes by sharing living quarters. He hoped that in time they would spread out more and intermingle, but it would take baby steps. 

By the time Loki returned to Sam, the high priest was just sitting down to dinner. Loki plopped into the chair with a heavy sigh. “Long day?” Sam asked amusedly. 

“You have no idea. They took the deal this time, thankfully, but there are so few of them left. Less than five hundred where there used to be ten thousand. We had to bring a few over early since they were already fading. The rest will be integrated in a week. It’s going to be a very busy time.”

“I can imagine. At least those that are left will survive. What changed their minds? Just the fact that they realized they have no choice?” 

Loki gave him the rundown of everything they’d learned and the fate of Michael and Raphael before saying, “Odin wants me to consider running heaven, at least from behind the scenes.”

“What do you think about that?” Sam asked. 

“I hate the idea, but I’ll do it if I have to. Worst case scenario, I appoint someone to deal with the bulk of the work and just throw my weight around when needed. I just…I gave up being an angel. I hated being an angel. I like where I am now and I just…I feel like if I do this then…I don’t know…I’ll be going backwards and I’ll lose everything.”

“You won’t,” Sam told him earnestly. “These people here…they will love you, no matter what, because you love them. I love you, no matter what. Angel, god, leader of heaven, I don’t care. You’ll always be my Loki. I get that you may not have as much time for us if it comes to that, and I’m okay with that. Really. It won’t change anything, save to make me miss you a little more when you’re gone. I’ll always be here, for as long as I’m alive anyway.”


	10. Chapter 10

“What if that could be forever?” Loki asked? 

“Huh?” Sam said inelegantly. 

“What if you could live forever? With me?” he asked more than a little nervously. 

“You mean like Odin did with his priestess? Bound her soul to his or something?” Sam asked remembering. 

“How did you know about that?” Loki asked confused. 

“Lofn mentioned it when I was afraid that I would be in trouble for loving you,” Sam said with a shrug. 

“Oh. Right. Lofn again,” Loki said distastefully. “Well, yes. That’s exactly what I was thinking. We would be bound together for eternity. My life would anchor yours. As long as I’m alive you would be too.”

“And you’re ready for that? An eternal commitment?” Sam asked, wide-eyed. It hadn’t been that long since Loki wasn’t even able to admit that he loved him. 

“My issues with love never had anything to do with the commitment. It had to do with how much it would break me to lose it, and it would. I could never survive losing you Sam,” Loki told him. 

Sam took a deep breath and let the emotion of those words wash over him as he made his decision. What to tell people when he didn’t age wouldn’t be a problem. They knew that he and Loki were together and wouldn’t have to hide the fact that Loki had given him immortality. It wouldn’t be like his old life where he’d have to move on every few years before he stopped aging. Truth was, he loved his life here and wouldn’t be opposed to seeing this community grow for the rest of forever. Mostly though, he wouldn’t mind being with Loki for the rest of forever. No, he WANTED, even NEEDED to be with him for the rest of forever. “Yes. I would love that.”

Loki grinned and grabbed his arm, almost dragging him for the bedroom. Before Sam could blink they were both naked, and Sam was flat on his back on the bed. “Now this isn’t going to be very pleasant, but it won’t last long and then I’ll spend the rest of the night making it up to you, okay?” 

“Do whatever you need to do, to give us forever, Loki,” Sam told him, not a trace of doubt in his voice. 

Loki got up and straddled Sam, placing a hand on his chest. “Will you give me your heart?” he asked firmly. 

“Yes, Loki,” Sam answered, seeming to sense that it was a ritual of some sort so left off any flowery words. He winced at the tight pulling sensation in his chest. 

“Will you give me your soul?” Loki asked.   
“Yes, Loki,” he replied and then Loki was kissing him deeply and Sam couldn’t even place the sensation   
he was flooded with. It was uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t say painful. If he had to put it into words he would say that it felt like his soul was being pulled from his body and replaced with something only slightly different. Maybe the binding with Loki?

“Will you give me your seed?” Loki asked.   
“Yes, Loki,” Sam said, rather excited about this part, even if he wasn’t sure how he would do it. He was both surprised and very pleased when Loki lowered himself on Sam’s cock. The fact that he had only done this once and it had been about a year ago really affected his staying power and it wasn’t long before he was filling Loki. 

Loki pulled himself off, not reaching his own release, as much as he dearly wanted to. That would have to wait until they were finished. The seed usually went last, just for that reason, but Loki wanted to save the hardest part for last. “And will you give me your life?” 

“Yes, Loki,” Sam said, slightly breathless this time, but without a moment’s hesitation. Loki pulled a cut on the side of Sam’s neck and leaned down to drink. He had to take in nearly all of Sam’s blood, bring him to the brink of death and then weave in his own life force to bring him back. It said a lot for Sam’s trust in Loki that even as he was being drained dry, he didn’t struggle or fight the god. 

Loki kept one hand on Sam’s chest, monitoring his life force. He couldn’t risk going too far, but if he stopped too soon it wouldn’t work. When he could feel it starting to blink, he quickly ran his tongue over the cut, healing it, before using both his hand on Sam’s chest and his mouth over the priest’s cold unconscious one, to slam Sam with all the life he could give him. He immediately started warming and it was about thirty seconds before he was stirring into consciousness and then kissing Loki back. It wasn’t long before Loki pulled away to let Sam breathe. 

“I-is it done?” he asked, seeing the grin on Loki’s face, and rather hoping that was it. 

“It’s done,” Loki told him and Sam grinned too, crushing their lips together. He’d never felt so alive. Loki flipped them over, so that Sam was hovering over top of him. “Take me, Sam.”

Sam moaned in anticipation, but wasn’t about to get right to the main event. He slid down Loki’s body, taking his throbbing cock in his mouth as he worked a finger inside the god. Loki let out a choking moan and tangled his hand in Sam’s hair, unable to keep himself from thrusting up into his priest’s warm mouth. Sam crooked his finger to hit the sweet spot and Loki was spilling over with a cry. Once Sam was swallowing everything he spilled, he began moving back up Loki’s body, worshiping every inch of skin as he asked, “Keep going?” He remembered the one time they did this before Loki had been so nervous. 

“Yes, Sam,” Loki said breathlessly. He had promised to make it up to him after all and he’d rather forgotten how good this felt. By the time Sam’s lips reached Loki’s again, he was sliding a third finger into the keening god, and Loki kissed him like he was starving. 

When Sam had to break for air, he removed his fingers and lined himself up, whispering, “I love you, Loki.”

“I love you, Sam. Forever,” Loki whispered back and then he felt his barrier being breeched and no more coherent thoughts were possible as Sam filled him up and from then on the only sounds filling the room were breathless moans and the slapping of flesh against flesh as Sam drove into his god desperately. Eventually, after Sam was spent again, they switched and after a few more rounds, they were coming down from their highs. 

“So, I’m curious,” Sam started. 

“When are you not?” Loki teased. 

Sam chuckled, but continued with his question. “The whole giving you my seed part…” 

“It could have been done any way, as long as it entered by body. Hell I could have given you a hand job and shoved it up my nose.” Sam burst into laughter and that was what Loki was waiting for after that comment. “I knew the next part was going to be exceptionally hard on you though, so I wanted to make that part as easy as possible and give you as much pleasure as possible during it.”

“The next part…what was that? Did I…actually die? It felt like it.”

“No. You didn’t die, but you were very close. I had to bring you to the brink of death and then stabilize you with my life in order to bind us,” Loki told him. He was more warmed than he thought was possible by the fact that Sam had placed so much trust in him that even his overdeveloped survival instincts didn’t flare up during that. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” he asked, but without accusation. Just curiosity. 

“It would have just made you nervous. You would have been tense and it would have made things even harder,” Loki told him, and Sam nodded. It made sense. 

“Thank you, Loki,” Sam said, suddenly overcome with emotion as it hit him what they had done. 

“For not telling you?” Loki asked amusedly. 

“For loving me. For wanting me. For…for giving me forever with you,” he replied. 

“Always, Samshine,” Loki said with a warm smile, leaning over for another kiss. 

It wasn’t long before Sam was dozing peacefully, a large smile on his face and Loki was curled in his arms, head resting on Sam’s chest and wondering how he ever got so lucky. He thought back to his conversation with Lofn and how she told him that love could be a strength and lift him to heights he never thought imaginable if he just let it and as much as he hated ever admitting that he was wrong, he had to give her this one. Perhaps he should get her a gift of some sort in thanks. Maybe a nice fruit basket. 

That’s when he remembered that he owed her even more. She had intervened with Sam, made sure that he would wait for him to get over his hangups. Made sure he would be patient and not give up. He wasn’t sure what would have happened without her interference. The road would have, at the very least, been much rockier. Yes. He would definitely get her a nice fruit basket. Maybe some bread and jams too. It might be worth getting to know her a little better too. It had been far too long since he’d had a friend.


	11. Chapter 11

The six angels in Asgard had been released, fully stable, and chosen apartments by the time the rest of them were due to arrive. Odin and Loki headed to the meeting point where the rest of the angels were to arrive along with gods from the other pantheons. Shangti and Dragon of the Asians, Keri and Kame of the North Americans, Geb and Nut of the Egyptians, Danu and Dagda of the Celts, Shango and Orishi of the Africans, and Jupiter and Hera of the combined Greek/Roman peoples. Since they shared a city, they sent a representative from each. The South Americans had declined to participate since they had no more interest in this world now that it was dead so it was left to the seven of them to get everything settled. 

They had just managed to get themselves organized after their greetings when Joshua arrived with the first group of angels. “I assumed it would be more prudent to bring each group at once rather than have everyone milling around trying to figure out where to go,” he said after greeting the gods. 

“That is a good idea. One we should have thought of,” Odin said with a nod. 

“Do these angels have any preference on where they would like to go?” Danu asked kindly. 

“No. None of us know much of anything about your cities, so no one has a preference,” Joshua told her. 

“We will take the first group then,” Shango spoke up before anyone else had a chance to. He was rather eager to get back to his business and didn’t want to wait here any longer than he had to. The seventy angels moved towards he and Orishi who began handing out their own keys, which were in the form of armbands. While they were doing that, Joshua went to get the next group who went with Shangti and Dragon and received their keys in the form of earrings. Odin and Loki had expected to receive the last group so weren’t going to speak up unless Joshua said that a group was specifically intended for Asgard. Odin figured that the ‘leader’ of the angels would be more comfortable going himself to the ones he already had the beginnings of a relationship with. 

Once they had arrived in Asgard, everyone was sent to the healers for monitoring for a few days, just to make sure there were no complications, but Odin held Joshua back. “I would like to speak with you for a few moments before you go to the healers.”

“What about?” Joshua asked curiously. 

Odin first led them to a comfortable sitting room before bringing up what he wanted. “I wish to speak with you about perhaps residing in the castle while you are here instead of the housing we set up for the rest of the angels.”

“Why?” 

“Because I would like to teach you how to lead,” Odin told him bluntly. “You mentioned that your people were built to follow, not to lead, and I am hoping to help you fix that.”

“I don’t know if they would want me as their leader full time. This was just to get us through the crisis,” Joshua said nervously. 

“And you stepped up when they needed you, which makes you the perfect choice for it,” Odin said before looking to Loki, who nodded and took over the conversation. 

“Besides, I want you to lead,” he said. He held up a hand before Joshua could respond and began to explain. “I wasn’t always a pagan. I used to be an archangel. I used to be Gabriel.”

“What?! But…” 

“I pushed for a more peaceful agenda, and Michael and Raphael turned on me. Nearly killed me, so I fled. I joined the pagans much like you did, except I bound myself completely to them. I became one of them. I didn’t want to be an angel anymore. I still don’t. I don’t want to be in charge of heaven. I don’t want to go back. I’m happy with my life the way it is and have other responsibilities. I want you to run heaven in my place. If there is anyone that I can trust to make heaven into a better place than I left, it’s you,” Loki told him. He wasn’t going to tell him that he would take control if it was a choice between that and letting it become what it was. 

“I…um…if you think that I can do a good job, then I would be honored,” Joshua said with a bow. “Should you ever wish to take your rightful place, I will gladly step aside,” he added. No one would dispute his leadership if the only remaining archangel was in his corner, after all. 

“Thank you, Joshua,” Loki said seriously. He knew he was never going to take his place back in heaven, but if it helped the seraph to think that it was a possibility, he wouldn’t dissuade him. 

“And I would be happy to live in the castle, my lord, but perhaps I could have a few weeks with the others to make sure they settle in well?” Joshua asked. 

“Of course. You must take care of your people first and foremost. Take all the time you need and just come up to the castle when you’re ready,” Odin told him. 

“I thank you,” Joshua said with a bow which was returned by the king of Asgard. 

“Loki will lead you to the healers,” Odin said. “Make sure you let me know if you or any of the others have any problems.” 

“I will. Thank you,” Joshua said following Loki out. During the walk, Joshua asked a lot of questions of Loki about what vision he had for heaven going forward and found that he couldn’t exactly disagree with anything that was said. A lot of it he would need more details on, but there would be time for that. He found the information on how the pagans co-existed fascinating and could definitely see the benefits of adopting such a system. By the time they had reached the healers, Joshua had secured a promise from Loki to make time to talk to him in more detail about this later. 

Once they were inside, Loki took a moment to check with the head healer to make sure everyone was alright. There were apparently a few of them that were nearly as bad off as the ones that had arrived last week, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with some rest, now that they had access to the power held in the city. 

Loki, once again, returned to Sam exhausted. Not physically, since he didn’t have that ability, unless he drained his powers to the extreme, but he was mentally and emotionally exhausted. It had been a very long day, but everyone was settled now. He would go back in a few days and help with getting them relocated. Many of the other council members would be helping too. It would be chaos either way, but they were hoping to keep it to some level of organized chaos which was really Loki’s specialty. 

Over the next few months, Loki tended to visit Asgard more often than usual, but otherwise things went on much like normal. He and the other gods were also spending a great deal of time cleansing the air on earth. They planned to move their islands back towards the end of fall. Dean hadn’t been the only one to bring up the benefits to their gods. Many on other islands made the same observations. They would hopefully have at least one more assured plentiful winter before things went back to normal. It would be much easier to move the islands back if they could at least get the air cleaned and the sea replaced. 

Over that few months, Sam had noticed Dean hanging around the temple more often and not so often to hang out with him. His brother was very good at keeping secrets though. It was just after they had announced the fact that they would be moving the island back after the next moon when Sam finally found out why Dean had been hanging around so much. Sam heard a knock on the door to his personal rooms and went to open it. Sam was confused at how nervous Dean looked, and even more confused when he asked if Loki was around. 

Sam stepped aside, allowing Dean to see Loki sitting on the couch and Dean walked over and said, “I would like your permission to marry Eydis.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at the very nearly shaking man, and considered the matter. This wasn’t as easy a question as one might assume given that Dean was technically his brother in law. “You are aware of the edict that at least one child of any of my priests and priestesses will become a priest or priestess themselves. Would you be able to accept that given that you don’t follow the faith here?” 

“As long as they won’t be forced into anything, especially anything sexual, I’m okay with that. Just because I don’t worship you doesn’t mean I hold it against anyone else,” Dean told him. 

“There will be nothing sexual at all. That is the reason they are allowed to have children so that anything sexual stays between me and Sam. Not to say that the others don’t watch from time to time when we are on the altar, but no children will be allowed to do that anyway,” Loki told him. “You and Eydis will be expected to raise your child in such a way that they would see the position as the honor that it is though. Do you think you can do that?” 

“From what I’ve seen it actually is, so I have no problem telling my kids that,” Dean told him. Hell, the priests and priestesses had the best of everything with very little work to get it. Not to mention the fact that, for those that worship Loki, the chance to have any attention at all from him would be a definite bonus too. Loki hadn’t so far voiced any concerns that Eydis hadn’t. 

“Okay. In that case, you have my permission. Just let me know when, and we can arrange everything,” Loki told him. He knew that if there was any priestess that a child would decline from it would be this union, but he could hold out hope. Saying no despite getting the right answers would bring him more trouble than he wanted from Sam. “Will you be wanting to live in the temple or in a home in the village?”

“Probably in the temple. I’ll be gone on hunts and I’d rather her and any kids be here rather than home alone,” Dean told him. 

“Okay. I’ll start working on some more family quarters,” Loki told him. 

“Thank you,” Dean said relieved that Loki didn’t make him jump through a hundred hoops. He knew he would have trouble as a non-believer looking to marry a priestess, and he was glad that Loki didn’t force him to convert. He wasn’t sure if he would go that far, even for her, but he might have. Thankfully, he didn’t need to make that decision.


	12. Chapter 12

The move the next week went without a hitch and all the people who found the change in the start disorienting were finally at peace again. Dean had scheduled his wedding for a week after the change so that he could take advantage of the restlessness in the animals on the island first. The hunters had gotten together and worked out a fairer rotation this time. Dean had gotten lucky last time in that he lived on the edge of town. There were a few others that had the same luck, but this time it would be more even. Dean didn’t mind. He had everything he needed and as long as he got enough to get him through the winter he would be fine. He had ended up sharing a lot of what he’d gotten last winter anyway with those who had been harder up. Bobby had gotten his own bow this time too, so as not to have to share Dean’s and take shifts. It was just a basic piece and fairly cheap, but he wouldn’t be getting a lot of use out of it anyway so it hardly mattered. 

When the day of Dean’s wedding rolled around, he was a nervous wreck. Sam had considered warning him that he would have to consummate it in front of Loki, but decided against it. He was already on the verge of bolting. He wasn’t going to risk pushing him over the edge. He would find out when it was too late to do anything about it. Sam knew that, despite his previously womanizing ways, he was more of a prude than most people here. As far as these people were concerned, sex was sex. There was nothing dirty about it. Granted it was usually done in private homes, but if people walked in on something it wasn’t a huge deal unless it was young kids and even then, they were just sent away calmly. 

Sam was, of course, standing for Dean and the ceremony went off without a hitch. After it was over, Sam wished he could be a fly on the wall as he walked out the door, trying his best to suppress his smirk. He expected it would be a while before Dean and his new bride showed up to their own party. 

Back in the temple, when Dean realized what he was supposed to do, his eyes got wide. “You want me to…in front of him…he’s gonna watch?! Oh no. Uh-uh,” he backed away shaking his head. 

“This is what happens when you marry a priestess, Dean,” Loki said amused. “I have to bless the marriage in every way. All of the other priests and priestesses did this at their weddings, too.”

“But…I don’t…I can’t…” Dean stammered. 

“It’s alright, Dean. You can just forget he’s there. Just be with me,” Eydis told him pulling him into a soft kiss to try and distract him. As the clothes were coming off, he couldn’t stop himself from looking nervously back at Loki every so often until Eydis turned him so that his back was to the god. He was doing a little better at that. He wasn’t shaking quite so badly at least. Once she was laying on the altar and he was leaning over her, trying very hard not to think about what else happened regularly on this same altar, he found that he couldn’t quite get it up. Not with Loki watching. 

“It’s not a big deal Dean. I’ve watched Loki and Sam on this altar loads of times,” Eydis told him trying to calm him down. 

“That’s really not helping,” Dean muttered, completely embarrassed. 

“Just kiss me, Dean,” she said softly. After a few minutes of that, he finally managed to clear his mind of all the extraneous stuff and do his husbandly duties. That didn’t stop him from blushing bright red and grabbing frantically at his clothes the second he was done, and noticing the large erection that Loki was sporting didn’t help in the slightest. He didn’t think he stopped blushing the rest of the day, especially when he got that knowing smirk from Sam. Loki’s appearance at the party just increased his discomfort, but thankfully the god didn’t say anything about his difficulty or the experience at all. He hoped that it was something like dealing with a priest making it all confidential. It was bad enough that Loki had seen that, having Sam know would be a hundred times worse. 

Dean realized that, now that he was living in the temple, he would be taken care of with all the others in the regular supplies for the temple, so in return he just donated most of what he got to the village. He definitely didn’t want to sit around and be a kept man, but he had no need of any of it. He did keep some of the nicer hides for clothes and blankets, and he gave some of it to Bobby. Fishing was all well and good as a retired hunter when you had family with you to help out, but alone, it didn’t bring in a whole lot. One or two animals a month was all it took to keep Bobby comfortable though and the rest went to the village as a whole. Of course, winter was just as easy as the last winter was, thankfully, so no one had to worry about it. 

By the time spring rolled around again, Dean was ready to get back out there. Not that he didn’t love his wife dearly. He did. But being underfoot twenty-four seven was a little much. Not to mention running into everyone else in the temple regularly. He lost count of the number of times he wished he could bleach his eyes after walking in on Sam and Loki on the altar, and he was amazed how many people stopped to watch and they didn’t seem to care. He always dragged Eydis away though. He did not want her ogling other men sleeping with each other. It may have been a flush winter regarding supplies, but it was a rough winter for Dean. He finally got what the other hunters were going on about last year when they were so excited be on their first hunt of the season. Sometimes you just needed a break. Especially when your wife was pregnant. 

It was while the hunters were on the first trip of the year, when Sam and Loki realized that they needed to start sealing off the temple when they were on the altar once Olaf and Sigurd, now walking, had apparently slipped their mother’s watch and wandered in. She was right behind them and scooped them up, taking them back to their rooms with a quiet apology to her lord and the high priest. Loki just waved a hand, sealing the room and thought nothing else of it, though Sam did need a moment to get back into the mood. With four more babies having been born not too long ago, a set of twins and two single births, as well as Dean’s wife expecting in the next few months, there would soon be quite a few kids running around the temple so it was probably a prudent precaution. 

It was around the middle of summer when Dean’s daughter was born, and thankfully, he wasn’t on a hunting trip at the time. He had skipped this months, not knowing when his wife would pop. It was a difficult birth, but not a dangerous one. She had just taken forever to greet the world, prompting Eydis to comment that she was as stubborn as her father and giving her the name of Halldora which meant rock, and given that she always told Dean that he was as ‘stubborn as a rock’ the name stuck. Dean insisted that he was going to call her Dora anyway. 

It wasn’t long after that, when Loki informed Sam that there would be a new thing starting up. The angels would be shadowing the gods that still had followers on this world to see how they did things and how they related to their people. He assured him that he could get rid of his tail for their private time if Sam wanted him to, but Sam just replied that he didn’t care. He had realized that he kinda liked people watching them. If the angels wanted to be voyeurs, he could live with it. It wasn’t even uncommon for the others to get themselves off while watching and that just turned Sam on even more. Loki told him with a little disappointment that Odin had assigned Balthazar to someone else, not trusting Loki and him together. Sam couldn’t help but laugh. He had heard enough about Balthazar to know that it was a very wise decision, not that he would say that to Loki, of course. Since there were so many angels and so few gods with people left on this world, it would have to be done a few at a time. Sam couldn’t help but look forward to meeting Loki’s first shadow. Not counting the fact that Loki used to be an angel a long time ago, Sam had never met an angel before.


	13. Chapter 13

When Loki went to Odin to see who his first shadow would be among the angels, he groaned. “How come I have to be stuck with the paranoid soldier who, even after all this time, still suspects an ulterior motive.”

“Because, whether you want to admit it or not, you care about them all more than you want to. Imagine if he were in the hands of someone like Thor? He’d end up beaten senseless within a week,” Odin told him amusedly. He had been worried about Castiel. Of all the angels, he seemed to be the one who would make trouble if there was trouble to be made. So far, he had been well within the rules, sometimes skirting the line, but never crossing it. He needed to have his eyes opened and soon before something happened that he couldn’t come back from. He had heard from the other pantheons that they all had one or two angels like that, and when questioned, Joshua admitted to splitting the potential troublemakers up. Only one had been forced to take drastic actions though. A seraph named Uriel that had gone with the Asians had to be put to death after starting a riot and attempting to murder three gods. The rest were just quietly simmering. They hoped that giving the angels this opportunity to see how they worked might help. 

“Fine,” Loki pouted. 

“Excellent!” Odin said clapping his hands together happily. “He’s just waiting in the next room for you if you want to fetch him.”

Loki shot a half-hearted glare at the god king as he headed for Castiel, muttering all the while about presumptuous gods and their meddling. “Looks like you’re with me for a while kid,” Loki told the seraph who was standing stiffly in the center of the room. 

“What are we to be doing?” Castiel asked suspiciously. 

“We are going to be giving you angels the opportunity to see how we operate. You’ll just be following me around while I answer any questions you may have,” Loki told him, trying not to react to his suspicion. 

“Very well. Where do we begin?” Castiel said resignedly. 

“Today was a service day for my people, which means we will be going to see my high priest first,” Loki told him, taking his shoulder as they reappeared in Sam’s rooms a little after sundown. “Sam this is Castiel. Castiel, my high priest and bonded, Sam.”

“Nice to meet you, Castiel,” Sam said holding out his hand. After some prompting from Loki, he took Sam’s hand and shook it. 

“So, what do we have this week?” Loki asked, plopping down on the couch and rolling his eyes when Castiel stayed standing. 

“Well since harvest is coming up, all the farmers are asking for a good one,” Sam told him. “There are six people who’ve taken ill with what seems to be pneumonia, but one of them is elderly, and a few new children to bless.”

“Sounds good. You got the list?” Loki asked, and Sam held it out to him. “Perfect. See you later Samshine,” he said leaning down for a lingering kiss. 

Loki hit the people first, wanting to catch them before they went to bed. He went to bless the four babies that had been born during the week, and spoke a moment with each of the parents. Then he hit the sickbeds of the five non-elderly, including two children. He healed them and spoke with them to reassure them. Then he went to the elderly man’s sickbed. Him, he did not heal, but explained why he would not. Told him that he had lived a long and full life and that it was his time to join the honored dead. He promised the man that his family would be taken care of and mostly just gave him some quality time with his god at the end of his life. 

As they were hitting the first of the fields to enhance the crop, Castiel took the opportunity of them being alone to ask, “Why do you do that?” 

“Do what?” Loki asked, despite knowing exactly what the seraph was talking about. 

“Heal them, bless their children, give them better food, all of it.”

“Because that’s the way it works, Cassie. We take care of them and they take care of us by providing their love and worship. It’s the only right way to do things,” Loki explained as he walked through the plants, running his fingers over each one. 

“But you are gods. They should worship you and love you just for that,” he argued. 

“And what kind of gods would we be if we didn’t care for them in return?” Loki asked. “I’m not saying we should do everything for them, and we don’t. I don’t just materialize food instead of them planting their own, but these farmers have worked hard over the course of the year to cultivate these fields and grow these crops. I’m just giving them a little push. If someone gets a cold or a less serious illness that they can fight off on their own, I leave them to it, but if it is something life-threatening that they don’t have the ability to treat, I will heal them if it is before their time. If, despite the best of their preparations, they fall short of the food and supplies to last them through the winter, I will provide the deficit. Happy, healthy people are of far more worth than those motivated by fear and despair.”

“And how do you understand all of their prayers? Or are they all relayed through your high priest? What if they need something urgently?” Castiel asked. 

“They are all relayed through the high priest, or other priests and priestesses when we have more than one settlement,” Loki explained. “The bond between a god and their priests allow their prayers to come through clearly. If someone needs something urgently they go to one of the priests who call for me.”

“And if you don’t make it in time?” Castiel asked. 

“Then, I don’t make it in time. There isn’t anything more I can do than my best,” Loki said with a shrug. 

“Don’t they hate you for that?” he asked confusedly. He’d seen more than a few humans railing at god for not answering their prayers, after all. 

“Sometimes they lash out a bit in their grief, but eventually they come to understand that there was nothing else to be done, and in the end, my attention to them and comfort for them makes them love me even more.”

“And you allow them to ‘lash out’ as you put it? To disrespect a god?” Castiel asked incredulously. 

“Normally, no. But in those situations, we recognize that they don’t mean it. That it’s just the grief talking. Humans tend to have extreme reactions to such things. It’s simply in their nature. You can’t hate them for it any more than you can hate a bee for buzzing or a horse for running.”

“How do you care for so many people, even those on other worlds?” Castiel asked. 

“Sometimes it gets pretty busy, but we don’t take on more than we can handle and in cases of things like natural disasters, other gods who aren’t as busy can pitch in and help. We aren’t greedy. We don’t try and poach each other’s followers. It’s actually against our highest laws to do so. On each world, each pantheon has a certain area set aside for their people. There tends to be some mingling from time to time due to travel and such, but for the most part we stick to our little corners of the world. Those of us who have room for more followers will attempt to cultivate them. To build trust and respect. Those who already have their fill of followers will take a step back on that world and allow others their chance.”

“What about when there are too many that need followers for one population to sustain?” he asked. 

“Then the eldest and highest in society are given first choice and it moves down. That is why most of the residents of Asgard, aside from the rulers, are the younger generations. They will get their chance as more worlds are created and cultivated, but until then, they draw on the central power of Asgard which comes from all of us gods.”

“And you truly believe that heaven could have a system such as this?” Castiel asked skeptically. 

“I do. It’s not really so different. I know that the main power is connected only to the worship of your father, but you could get out there as his representatives. Do things in his name, have them pray to you instead of him, secure worship for him in order to power heaven just like the pagan cities are and that power could be shared among all.”

“But we are still limited to this one world,” Castiel pointed out. “If we do as you say, and co-exist with the pagan peoples equally, we will not have enough power to sustain us all.”

“Of course, you will,” Loki told him. “Remember how low your numbers are at the moment. You currently have less than five percent of your previous number. There will be more than enough to go around, even if there isn’t enough for each individual angel to cultivate their own population, which there may just be. Perhaps, in time, there will be enough goodwill between our peoples for us to feel comfortable welcoming you into our ranks as your own pantheon which will allow you to reach and create other worlds as well.”

“Why not just do that now and save us all this trouble?” Castiel grumbled. 

“Because you angels have a history of conquest rather than kindness. You use intimidation and threats instead of trust and respect. We will not submit other worlds to such a fate. Do you not see that your actions caused all of the destruction on this world?” 

“We did not tell the humans to create such powerful weapons,” Castiel tried to defend the angels. 

“No. You didn’t. But you did tell them to kill those who refused to agree with them. To kill for religion, for not following societal norms. You taught them hatred and intolerance, rather than love and treating differences with respect. All of my people will say that I am the best god. All of Thor’s people will say that he is. And yet when our people meet, they do not fight or attempt to harm each other. They simply accept that they will never agree and move on. The adversarial natures that you instilled in them and the hatred and intolerance that you fostered, is what led to this entire incident. We will not allow that to happen to other worlds. Other people’s. It is our hope that you will learn this better way to do things and we will be able to trust you to expand to other worlds as well,” Loki explained. 

Castiel nodded. He had a lot to think about. He couldn’t deny that this god made sense, both in his actions towards his people and his words of rebuke. By the time the conversation was finished, they had walked all of the fields and Castiel was following Loki into the forest. “Now what are we doing?” he asked curiously. 

“I’m just checking on the population of the animals to make sure they are stable. If there have been too many of any of them killed or even just too many females, then the population can die out as the people hunt them for food. It is much easier to add a bit of support to a struggling population than it is to rebuild one that has died,” Loki explained. He usually waited until a little later in the year to do this, but if he was going to be teaching he might as well teach as much as he could. 

They walked the forest until sunup, with Castiel asking many more questions of his guide, stopping every so often as the seraph watched the god create a few animals from time to time. It seemed the bears were in the most danger since they were the ones most hunted and the ones with the lowest rate of procreation. He created seven fully grown female bears and three males, and let them loose into the forest. He also added a few elk to the mix as well. Most of the other animals were either small enough or fast enough to be rarer catches and thus were plenty stable on their own. 

Loki made them invisible as they headed back to town as the villagers were starting their days. It was his intention to have Castiel just watch them for a while. To learn about them and see how they interacted in a fully peaceful society. After a few hours, he told the seraph to stay and keep watching while he went to spend some time with his bonded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue left now :)


	14. Chapter 14

By the time Loki moved on to another angel a few months later, Castiel was a complete convert, and Loki felt much better about the whole idea. If he could convince Castiel, then they would all be convinced in time. He’d had quite a few meetings with Joshua on the matter as well, ironing out details. In the midst of all this, there were discussions about the form this world would take during the rebuilding process. It was finally decided that, due to the unique needs of this world and the number of angels that would depend on it, as well as the gods, it would be best to create a series of small islands rather than large landmasses like before. That way, each village could have equal access to farmlands, forests, oceans, and bodies of fresh water. 

They all began constructions on their own islands, with certain guidelines of what to include, but free to design as they wished, and time moved on. Halldora grew up and became a priestess and Dean had three more children after her. Two boys and another girl. One of the other boys also became a priest and the other two went into the village to make their own way. Loki had no trouble getting at least one child from each of his priests and priestesses to become one on their own. In fact, he had more than he needed and had even begun construction on a second island to expand. This time was only marred by the passing of Bobby who’d lived a long and full life. 

Loki’s return had caused something of a baby boom among the people. The increase in their spirits, combined with the help that he offered with crops and the animal populations allowed that growth to continue, but the island was getting a little crowded. Twenty years after the destruction of the outside world, Loki called for a meeting of all of the villagers, at the same time as the other gods were doing the same. They laid out the issues, including the change of heart of the angels, and asked for volunteers to seed populations on their islands. After assuring them that he would not hold it against any of them to change their patron god for the good of all and assuring them that they could still worship him as well, he managed to get some volunteers. When he was asked if they could come back if things didn’t go well, and he promised that they could, he got even more. 

In the end, he managed to get enough to seed an entire island for Castiel, who ended up being Joshua’s second in command as the military arm of heaven, and thus, the first to get his island. Joshua, like Odin and the other rulers, would stay in heaven full time once it was open again and their populations were thriving. Castiel, per Loki’s suggestion, had built a large temple with dormitories to house his new people as they built the community. He would give them a great deal of help to get them started, but they had high hopes that eventually things would become self-sustaining just like the other islands. Castiel would stay in the temple until he had chosen at least one priest or priestess to carry their prayers to him. 

That round of volunteers from the other islands ended up seeding nearly fifty settlements, all for the angels. The other seventeen Norse gods that had saved their islands, had much higher populations to begin with given that they hadn’t been absent from them and so were able to provide for between two and three settlements each. It was the same for the other pantheons that survived. Now that they were set on rebuilding, there were more than enough people that didn’t want to leave their god to begin to build more villages for them as well so they expanded to new islands also, usually connected by a narrow channel so that trade could happen between the villages, at least until the new one was self-sustaining. 

A smaller group went over first to begin construction on homes, starting in the spring so they would have time to get most of them built before winter and ready to move into next spring. They were sent food and supplies from the main village while they were there. The first building they made was a decent sized room for them all to sleep in and a fireplace for warmth on the cold nights. There wasn’t much else there since they chose to focus the majority of their attention on building the homes they would need to start with. There were enough volunteers that they were able to build three homes at a time and ended up with their target of forty by the time they had to return to the main village to hunker down for winter. 

Dean, Eydis, and their children moved to the new village. As much as Dean loved his brother and even his brother-in-law, not having them underfoot all the time would be nice and it wasn’t like they wouldn’t be able to visit often. Halldora was already a full priestess like her mother, and their youngest son was still in training as a priest, so they were the base of new priests and priestesses for the new village. As the population grew, more would move over. Dean and Eydis were offered the high priest’s rooms in this new temple at Sam’s suggestion. He didn’t have the same limitations as other high priests due to his relationship with Loki. He wouldn’t need rooms at the other temples when his bonded could just fly him home at the end of the day when he visited other villages. 

The second village continued to grow as more and more people moved over, and the other populations that were seeded continued to grow as well. The angels had taken to their new path with gusto and it was only ten years after the first seeding when heaven was reopened and the remaining angels returned home. It wasn’t long after that though, when Dean got sick. He was nearly seventy years old which was quite old for these villages. Loki, despite him not being one of the gods followers even after all those years, was by his bedside when he passed, as was Sam. Loki offered him a place among the honored dead anyway, and Dean considered it for a long moment before he sighed heavily. “Fine. You win. You’ve finally converted me.” The deciding factor was the chance to see his wife and children again. Heaven could offer him nothing on that. 

Loki just laughed and patted his hand condescendingly as he said, “Don’t you know, Deano? I always win.” Dean let out a weak chuckle as his eyes closed for the last time. Loki squeezed Sam’s shoulder and nodded to Dean’s children who had gathered, Eydis, had preceeded him in death by two years. “I’ll be back shortly. I’m going to take this one myself,” Loki told them and they all looked at him gratefully. It wasn’t often that Loki walked a soul over himself. In fact, it had never happened to any of their knowledge. Perhaps he just wanted to make sure that Dean wouldn’t have any trouble getting where Loki intended him to go. 

Twenty years after Dean’s death, the world was thriving again. The population was still barely a fraction of what it had been before the world ended, but they didn’t want the population to get that high again anyway. It was hardly sustainable. Now that the world was part of the pagan peoples again, they would have the option to bleed off the population to seed new worlds when it started to get too high. Thankfully they had time. The pagan peoples had agreed that they wanted a hundred years of good behavior from the angels before they considered a petition for them to join the pantheons, and that would be long before they needed to start moving people. 

During this time, Sam brought up something that he’d been thinking about for a long time. “Would it be possible for us to have a child in some way? Or maybe adopt one that needs a home?” There weren’t exactly a lot of children up for adoption with all the people being cared for by gods or angels, but Sam wanted a baby, badly. 

“Children between gods and mortals are forbidden, though they have happened. A better option would be to use a surrogate. She could be implanted with your seed and we could raise the child,” Loki suggested. 

“So, the child would be hers too? She would be expected to give up her own child?” Sam asked sadly. 

“I wouldn’t mind her staying a part of the child’s life, perhaps as a beloved aunt, but the agreement we would make would mean that you and I are the parents,” Loki told him. “Maybe Heidrun. She has vowed to never marry, but perhaps she would consent to carrying our child.”

“We can ask,” Sam said with a smile, glad that Loki wanted to have a family with him. Heidrun gladly accepted. She had no desire to be a mother or a wife, but would happily accept the position of beloved aunt. She was more than honored that her god had asked her to carry his child and in fact, carried two more for them over the years as well. After their hundred years, the angels were voted to become a pantheon of their own with Joshua at the head, and they were free to expand to other worlds, as well. Loki only expanded his people as the priests and priestesses were brought up to handle them, but after a few hundred years his empire was as strong as it had ever been. Even his own and Sam’s children had become priests and priestesses, though they stayed in the original settlement with Sam and Loki, not wanting to be too far away from their parents.


End file.
